Can the Ravens finally beat the Patriots?

After coming off of an impressive game against the basement dwelling Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens head into Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. In the Ravens' fourteen-year existence, they have never beaten the Patriots. The city of Baltimore will hope that their luck changes this upcoming Sunday as the Ravens try to remain at the top of the NFL as one of the only remaining undefeated teams. After this past Sunday, the AFC has 3 other undefeated teams, the Colts, the Jets, and the Broncos, and the NFC has 3 undefeated teams, the Giants, the Saints, and the Vikings.

Against the Browns, the Ravens only surrendered one field goal in the 34-3 victory. The Ravens only allowed 186 total yards while gaining an astounding 479 yards. These statistics are very promising as the Ravens prepare to take on one of the league's best offenses of this decade. In the Patriots victory this past Sunday, they were able to put up 26 points while accumulating 445 total yards against the Atlanta Falcons while virtually shutting down their offense, only allowing 10 points and 257 total yards. Something is going to have to give come this Sunday, let's all just hope that the Ravens defense is going to be able to get pressure on Tom Brady and that our secondary will be able to contain the formidable Randy Moss and, if he plays, the speedy little Wes Welker.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the unforgettable match-up in Baltimore on December 3, 2007 when a late roughing the passer penalty on Bart Scott prompted him to take the penalty flagand through it into the stands, showing the frustration both of that drive by the Patriots, but also of the disappointing season by the Ravens. The penalty on Scott was followed by a game winning touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds left in the game. This win by the Patriots helped propell them to an undefeated regular season where they went on to loose to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Needless to say, this match-up on Sunday is one of the most compelling ones of the weekend with many eyes watching every play of this game. With the Ravens remaining at the top spot on many NFL power rankings, the New England Patriots are not far behind at the number seven position. The main match-up within the game to look out for is the Ravens cornerbacks against the Patriots receivers. Another one that I plan on keeping a close eye on is the Ravens pass rush against the Patriots offensive line. If the Ravens can flush Brady out of the pocket and get to him a few times, they should be able to rattle him enough, making him make mistakes. Hopefully the Ravens will be able to do this with a three or four man rush, because the more people that are rushing Brady, the less people that the secondary will have helping them in coverage.

Let me know what you think Baltimore... Is it Sunday yet?

Ravens vs. Brown at M&T Bank this Sunday

After starting off the season 2-0, the Ravens are riding a high wave of emotion as they prepare for their week 3 match-up against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are struggling this season going 0-2 so far by being defeated by the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos in two games that ended up being relative blowouts. The Ravens were able to hold off a last second come back at San Diego to secure their fourth regular season victory going back to last season.

The Ravens were able to sweep the season series in 2008 against the Browns, and look for their third straight win against the Ravens former city this upcoming Sunday. The Ravens have not lost to the Browns since November 18, 2007, when they had to go into overtime to decide the victor.

There are some intriguing match-ups to look for as these two teams take the field at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. As many people have been discussing this week, if the Ravens have one weak spot in their defense, it may be in the secondary. With that being said, the Browns do have a talented receiving core with Braylon Edwards as their number one and Joshua Cribbs as their number two. Even though he is a little banged up with a hamstring injury, former Raven running back Jamal Lewis looks to have a break-out game against the NFL's number one rushing defense, giving up a staunch 41 yards per game.

Now it's time for some outside opinions on the status of our beloved Baltimore Ravens. Is the Ravens secondary as terrible as people are trying to convey? I mean, Dawan Landry had an interception last week, and already has 14 tackles in two games. Dominque Foxworth, while having some troubles defending receivers that had substantial height advantages, still had two passes defended against San Diego. Fabian Washington and Frank Walker did all that they could to contain the Chargers' receivers. Oh yea, and there is that other guy back there, what was his name again?? That's right, Ed Reed. He's not a bad ballplayer. So is it the secondary's fault? I mean, we could blame it on the pass rush, since Coach Harbaugh was hesitant to blitz so that the speedy Darren Sproles wouldn't have more room to work with. And Trevor Pryce seems to not have his motor running up to speed quite like he has in his past three seasons here in Baltimore. I guess we'll see the game plan this Sunday, and see if our secondary, and for that matter, our defense in general, can play well enough to reassure the rest of the NFL that Baltimore's defense is still a force to be reckoned with.